Airports: Public Transport

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What estimates they have made of the impact that the Airtrack project will have on encouraging car travellers to Heathrow to switch to public transport, broken down by place at which the journey began.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The review of the business case for Airtrack, carried out by Arup for the former Strategic Rail Authority last year, suggests that the scheme's main benefits would be in terms of travel time savings to rail passengers to Heathrow, and providing new rail services to the airport from Guildford, Reading and Waterloo, markets not currently served direct. The report is available on the Department for Transport's website. Further work is in hand to assess the potential mode share impacts, in the context of the project for the sustainable development of Heathrow.

Armed Forces: Royal Irish Regiment

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What provision will be established with regard to Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Irish Regiment widows and disabled soldiers currently provided for by the welfare department of the Royal Irish Regiment on the disbandment of the Home Service Royal Irish Regiment.

Lord Drayson: We announced last week the settlement package for those Royal Irish (Home Service) personnel being made redundant. That announcement focused on the financial elements that individuals will receive as a result of the disbandment of the three Home Service battalions. Work continues to put in place a bespoke, publicly funded Royal Irish Aftercare package to ensure that we continue to provide support to ex-UDR and ex-Royal Irish (Home Service) personnel and their families after August 2007. We will provide further details when this work is completed.

Cancer: Bowel

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the first patient will be invited to come for bowel cancer screening under the proposed national bowel cancer screening programme; and in which area of the country the first such invitations will be issued.

Lord Warner: The Government have stated their commitment to a national bowel cancer screening programme. On 30 January 2006, the new Health White Paper, Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services reaffirmed that the programme will be rolled out from April 2006. Further details will be provided as soon as possible.

Civil Service: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which Northern Ireland Civil Service grades had rates of pay at or below the minimum wage before the latest pay increase; by how many scale points they were below the minimum wage; and, as a result, how many civil servants were then paid at or below the minimum wage.

Lord Rooker: The salaries of some 1,500 Northern Ireland Civil Service staff in administrative and support grades were moved onto the revised national minimum wage rate, which took effect from 1 October 2005, as an interim measure pending implementation of the 2005 pay award. The 2005 pay award, which contained further increases, took effect from the pay review date of 1 August 2005, and when paid subsumed the interim increase, so that at no stage was the salary entitlement of any staff set at or below the national minimum wage.

Coalfields: Regeneration

Lord Mason of Barnsley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many coalfield regeneration programmes have been established in England since 1997; at what sites; what is the estimated total investment involved; what has been the impact on employment; how many retraining programmes have been set up; and to what extent the European Union's Objective 1 finance has been involved.

Baroness Andrews: Since 1997 three specific coalfield programmes have been established in England. These are:
	The National Coalfields Programme
	The National Coalfields Programme is delivered by English Partnerships and the regional development agencies (RDA). The programme, made up originally of 86 sites throughout England, was established as a result of the findings of the Coalfields Task Force in 1998 and followed the initial transfer of 56 former British Coal sites to English Partnerships at the end of 1996. The programme has since been increased to cover 101 sites.
	The total investment to date has been £338.4 million and the investment for the total programme is expected to exceed £600 million, including recycled receipts. The programme is on target to create 42,000 jobs with 14,936 established to date.
	Where possible, English Partnerships seeks European funding through either RDA or local authority partners. Three sites, at Wath upon Dearne, Dinnington and Grimethorpe have been successful in securing Objective 1 funding to support industrial development. In addition, Objective 1 funding has contributed, alongside funds from the South Yorkshire Forest partnership, to environmental works on three further sites.
	The Coalfields Regeneration Trust
	The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which operates throughout the English coalfields, was established in 1999. The trust is an independent grant-giving body that seeks to spearhead the social and economic regeneration of the coalfields working with a wide range of partners. The total agreed budget for the trust from establishment to the end of the current funding agreement in March 2008 is approximately £150 million. The trust's Skillsbuilder programme introduced following the closure of the Prince of Wales colliery has so far resulted in 558 former miners moving directly into new jobs and the Selby retraining scheme helped a further 550 former miners into jobs. The trust's programmes in total have created over 1,000 jobs and assisted 11,646 people into work.
	A total of £750,000 of Objective 1 funding has been directly matched to Coalfields Regeneration Trust funding.
	The Coalfields Enterprise Fund
	The Coalfields Enterprise Fund is a venture capital fund launched in April 2004 aimed at investing in small and medium sized companies with growth potential in the former coalfields. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister made a one-off investment of £10 million into the fund in 2004–5 which with match funding is expected to provide up to £25 million investment into the coalfields.
	In Yorkshire more generally, Objective 1 funding has supported over 550 projects with grant of £670 million involving total expenditure of over £2.1 billion. The programme has created over 16,500 jobs, assisted over 6,500 businesses and attracted over 300 new businesses to the sub-region.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assistance they are providing to newly arrived refugees and displaced persons fleeing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and what representations they are making to prevent further conflict.

Baroness Amos: Around half of DFID's £54 million programme to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this financial year supports humanitarian work. We are supporting the UN High Commission for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs Rapid Reaction Fund, Oxfam, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and other NGOs to support refugees, displaced persons and their host communities, including those affected by recent violence in eastern DRC. As just one example of what this support provides, the UK's £683,000 grant to IRC is providing vaccinations against preventable diseases, increased access to water and sanitation and improved food security for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in South Kivu.
	The Secretary of State for International Development this week announced that we would continue to increase our humanitarian support to DRC—up to £30 million in 2006 and the same in 2007. Most of this will go to the UN action plan. The money will be put at the disposal of the humanitarian co-ordinator in DRC who will be able to distribute the funds quickly and flexibly as priority needs dictate. One of the action plan's main elements is the protection of vulnerable populations, including refugees. It will support emergency health, sanitation and nutritional provision, as well as supporting the safe and dignified return of Congolese refugees from neighbouring countries. It will also help to rebuild the lives of returnees, including the rehabilitation of basic services and provision of basic household goods.
	The UK also works at several levels to help put an end to the continuing pockets of conflict in DRC. We are a member of a group of ambassadors and senior UN and EU representatives supporting the transition to democracy in DRC (CIAT—Comité International d'Accompagnement de la Transition). CIAT has consistently pushed the Congolese transitional government for faster progress in a number of key areas, notably preparations for elections, security sector reform, disarming militias and ending corruption. We are pressing the transitional government to work together to make the democratic process a success, and avoid a return to conflict.
	The presence of foreign armed groups in eastern DRC—such as Rwandan ex-FAR/Interahamwe and various Ugandan groups—is a continuing source of instability. We support the UN's more robust stance against these groups and have consistently urged the DRC's neighbours to work constructively in support of the peace process in the DRC. We have also emphasised with the UN and Congolese authorities that all operations against militia groups must take into account the potential impact on the local population.
	Ill-disciplined and underpaid members of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC—Forces Armées de la République Democratique du Congo) are also creating insecurity for local communities. The Secretary of State for International Development visited DRG in October last year and stressed, in discussions with President Kabila and other members of the Government the need to provide properly for DRC's security forces. He offered £3 million of UK support for accommodation, water and human rights training, but on the condition that the Congolese Government pay and feed their troops first. The UK is providing two members of the EU Security Sector Reform Mission in DRC to assist with the army integration process. The UK and international partners also formally presented a dossier to President Kabila on 23 January this year cataloguing the most serious abuses carried out by FARDC soldiers, urging that the soldiers concerned be brought to justice.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What information they have received on the estimated daily mortality rate in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Baroness Amos: The International Rescue Committee's (IRC) most recent mortality survey (2004) gives a crude death rate of 2.1 deaths per 1,000, per month in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). (This figure is more than 40 per cent higher than the sub-Saharan Africa rate of 1.5 deaths per 1,000 per month.)
	We are unable to provide an accurate daily mortality figure for the DRC as there is no reliable estimate for the population. However, a rough calculation would suggest between 3,000 and 4,000 people die each day in the DRC.
	The IRC has estimated that this represents at least 1,200 deaths per day in DRC in excess of the sub-Saharan average.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their current assessment of the humanitarian crisis in the south-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially with regard to the numbers and well-being of street children.

Baroness Amos: The latest assessment of the humanitarian crisis in Kantanga province in south-eastern region of the Democratic Republic Congo from the United Nations stated that over 11,800 households have been vacated. In response the UN rapid response fund, to which the British Government are a contributor, is providing emergency humanitarian assistance to over 60,000 people.
	The humanitarian assistance provided by the UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is targeted at all vulnerable groups including children.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What programmes they are supporting to address the condition of street children throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Baroness Amos: The UK has recently announced that we will contribute £60 million over two years to the UN Humanitarian Action Plan for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The action plan for 2006 incorporates more than 330 projects by UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with a cost of $681 million. It is a strategy that meets both urgent life-saving needs and reduces vulnerability. It includes several programmes specifically aimed at protecting and providing assistance to vulnerable children.

Government Computer Systems: Northern Ireland Office

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On how many occasions in each of the past two years malicious programs have compromised computer systems in the Northern Ireland Office; and for each such occasion (a) how many machines were affected; (b) how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and (c) what the impact was on the activities of the department.

Lord Rooker: In the past two years there have been three minor instances of computers at the Northern Ireland being compromised by malicious programs. On two of the occasions a single personal computer was affected and on the other occasion two personal computers were affected. The malicious programs (viruses on each occasion) were removed as soon as practicable and did not have an impact on the day-to-day running of the Northern Ireland Office operations.

Housing: Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Lord Scott of Foscote: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they have taken to prepare for the introduction of a tenancy deposit scheme to protect those renting accommodation in the private rented sector.

Baroness Andrews: Tenancy deposit protection is scheduled to come into force in October 2006. Following a consultation that ended on 1 February 2006, the Government are preparing the secondary legislation required to commence the schemes. A competitive tendering exercise is underway to select suppliers to run the schemes and award contracts in early summer 2006.

Insolvency: Practitioners

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why it has proved necessary to double the annual fee per member for authorisation as insolvency practitioners, as proposed in the Insolvency Practitioners and Insolvency Services Account (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3524).

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The maintenance fee charged to the seven bodies recognised by the Secretary of State to authorise insolvency practitioners will increase from £100 per insolvency practitioner to £150 from 15 April 2006, and to £200 from 1 April 2007 as the fee set in 2004 is not at a sufficient level to match fees to costs, as required by the Treasury's fees and charges guide. The Insolvency Service has identified that time spent on the regulation of insolvency practitioners is much greater than provided for by the original fee, and it has been decided to stage the increase over two years.
	Matching fee levels between the functions making up insolvency practitioner regulation to the costs incurred will enable another fee, that payable by over indebted individuals entering into an individual voluntary arrangement, to be reduced from £35 to £15 from 1 April 2006.

Israel and Palestine: Road Map

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will make representations for the prompt resumption of the Middle East peace process road map negotiations following the Israeli elections at the end of March.

Lord Triesman: We, along with our EU partners, will continue to call on the Palestinians, the Israelis and the international community to make progress on the road map, to which both the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Government remain committed.

Land Registry for Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the performance of the office of the Land Registry for Northern Ireland, with particular regard to the amount of time taken to process inquiries.

Lord Rooker: The ministerial performance targets for Land Registers NI are reviewed annually. The targets reflect the key areas of productivity, cost and quality of service. The agency continues to achieve and improve its targets year on year. In relation to the time taken to process applications and inquiries, regular applications are currently being processed in 12 days against a target of 20 days. Land information services and inquiries are being processed in three days against a target of four days.

Land Registry for Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Land Registry for Northern Ireland provides value for money to both its customers and the taxpayer.

Lord Rooker: The Land Registers of Northern Ireland (LRNI) continues to meet and improve its annual cost and productivity targets. It is also enhancing quality and efficiency by providing services electronically to customers. A new land registry fees order will be introduced shortly and will reduce many registration fees. There is no drain on the taxpayer since LRNI covers all its costs from its fees income.

Mozambique

Viscount Waverley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	[The first Answer is a revised version of one which originally appeared on 9 March 2006.]
	What are the Department for International Development's current projects in Mozambique.

Baroness Amos: The Department for International Development currently has the following projects in Mozambique:
	Direct Budget Support (Financial Aid)
	Direct Budget Support (Technical Co-operation)
	Finance Sector Reform
	Private Sector Development Project (PoDE)
	CRESCE Micro-Financing Institution (funded through CARE)
	Fish Products Inspection Laboratory
	Water/Sanitation Project (Technical Co-operation)
	Water/Sanitation Project (Financial Aid)
	Support to Regional Roads Department (Financial Aid)
	Support to Regional Roads Department (Technical Co-operation)
	Labour Intensive Roads Project (Financial Aid)
	Labour Intensive Roads Project (Technical Co-operation)
	Community Land Use Fund
	Agricultural Seed and Input Trade Fairs
	Roads Fund: Senior Transport Specialist
	Open and Distance Learning (Financial Aid)
	Education Sector Common Fund (Financial Aid)
	Open and Distance Learning—Technical Co-operation)
	Commonwealth of Learning (Distance learning)
	HIV/AIDS & Reproductive Health (Financial Aid)
	HIV/AIDS & Reproductive Health (Technical Co-operation)
	Insecticide Treated Nets/Bednets roll-out
	Small Grants Scheme
	Support to PRS (PARPA) Communication
	Support to Civil Society (Institutional Capacity Strengthening)
	Support to HIV Adviser at the World Bank
	Support to Médecins sans Frontières—Luxembourg (NAIMA)
	Support to Electoral Institute for Southern Africa (2nd Phase)
	Support to G20—Poverty Monitoring Group
	Support to Five Years Strategic Plan—MONASO (HIV & AIDS Umbrella Organisation)
	National AIDS Council Common Fund
	HIV/AIDS World Bank Adviser
	UNAIDS post—HIV & AIDS Social Adviser
	Support to LINK—NGO Forum
	Essential Medicines (Financial Aid)
	Essential Medicines (Technical Co-operation)
	Integration of Reformed National Tax Directorate into Revenue Authority (Financial Aid)
	Integration of Reformed National Tax Directorate into Revenue Authority (Technical Co-operation)
	Poverty Analysis and Training—National Institute of Statistics
	Public Financial Management—SISTAFE(Financial Aid)
	Public Financial Management—SISTAFE(Technical Co-operation)
	Public Sector Reform—UTRESP(Financial Aid)—pooling arrangement
	Political Process Study (pro-poor)
	Integration of Reformed Customs into Revenue Authority (Financial Aid)
	Integration of Reformed Customs into Revenue Authority (Technical Co-operation)

NHS: Barts and the Royal London National Health Service Trust

Lord MacKenzie of Culkein: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When a decision will be made on the private finance initiative project for the Barts and the Royal London National Health Service Trust.

Lord Warner: The Secretary of State for Health gave approval for the scheme which includes state-of-the-art cancer and cardiac facilities and up to 1,248 beds on 8 March.

Northern Ireland: Government Advertising

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the result of the review of government advertising in Northern Ireland will be announced.

Lord Rooker: A report on the review of government advertising in Northern Ireland is due to be published in April 2006.

Northern Ireland: Government Advertising

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether government advertising in newspapers will be restricted to newspapers registered with the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC); and whether this will create a monopoly for the ABC.

Lord Rooker: The draft report published for public consultation in August 2005 proposed that government will advertise only in publications with independently audited circulation figures such as ABC. The final report will confirm this approach but will widen it to include the option of statistically reliable, independent, readership figures.
	Weekly papers will be given 12 months from the date of the final report to discuss with government and put either of these options in place.

Northern Ireland: Peace Funding

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the allocation of spending under Peace I and Peace II in both cash and percentage terms in each of Northern Ireland's parliamentary constituencies; and which organisations or recipients received moneys distributed under Peace II funding.

Lord Rooker: All EU PEACE funding is awarded to projects that best fit the relevant programme and measure level selection criteria and is allocated by parliamentary constituency.
	Peace I
	The table below details Peace I funding awarded in Northern Ireland by parliamentary constituency. Projects are allocated to a particular parliamentary constituency based on the postcode of the applicant. It is important to note that the project may or may not be situated within the same geographical areas as the applicant organisation.
	
		
			 Parliamentary Constituency Total Award (£) Percentage oftotal funding 
			 Belfast East 17,061,350 5 
			 Belfast North 34,878,188 11 
			 Belfast South 60,755,885 19 
			 Belfast West 40,856,178 13 
			 East Antrim 5,241,782 2 
			 East Londonderry 9,079,746 3 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 25,332,707 8 
			 Foyle 28,194,189 9 
			 Lagan Valley 6,517,481 2 
			 Mid Ulster 11,567,070 4 
			 Newry and Armagh 16,934,832 5 
			 North Antrim 10,497,225 3 
			 North Down 3,208,899 1 
			 South Antrim 5,173,505 2 
			 South Down 6,850,440 2 
			 Strangford 5,317,442 2 
			 Upper Bann 11,214,244 3 
			 West Tyrone 25,551,875 8 
			 TOTAL 324,233,040 100 
		
	
	Peace II
	The table below details Peace II funding awarded in Northern Ireland by parliamentary constituency. Where possible, project address information was used to allocate each project to a particular postcode and subsequently a parliamentary constituency. However, if the project address was insufficient to allocate postcode, applicant address details were used.
	
		
			 Parliamentary Constituency Total Award (£) Percentage of total funding 
			 Belfast East 20,517,229 4 
			 Belfast North 38,030,368 8 
			 Belfast South 100,874,008 22 
			 Belfast West 27,794,567 6 
			 East Antrim 12,879,419 3 
			 East Londonderry 30,455,764 7 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 27, 661,550 6 
			 Foyle 33, 287,608 7 
			 Lagan Valley 10,347,874 2 
			 Mid Ulster 16,355,139 4 
			 Newry and Armagh 23,016,262 5 
			 North Antrim 13,116,318 3 
			 North Down 19,822,065  
			 South Antrim 20,540,711 5 
			 South Down 10,443,891 2 
			 Strangford 7,476,855 2 
			 Upper Bann 12,866,438 3 
			 West Tyrone 30,684,862 7 
			 TOTAL 456,170,928 100 
		
	
	It is important to note that the scope or impacts of the project may extend beyond the geographical location of the project itself. In addition, where organisation address is used, it is important to note that a project may or may not be situated within the same geographical area as the applicant organisation.
	A list of organisations awarded funding under the Peace II Programme has been placed in the House of Lords Library. In addition to this, 272 individuals have been awarded funding. Due to data protection considerations these names have not been included in the list.

Official Gifts

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which gifts received by the Prime Minister while overseas and which were over the normal travellers' allowance, have been declared to HM Revenue and Customs since June 2001 in accordance with chapter 5 of the Ministerial Code; and
	How many gifts received by Ministers while overseas, which were worth more than the normal travellers' allowance, HM Revenue and Customs has advised on in regard to any duty and tax liability since June 2001 in accordance with section 5 of the Ministerial Code; and
	How much HM Revenue and Customs has received in duty or tax arising from ministerial gifts received while overseas which were over the normal travellers' allowance in each year since 1997.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportional cost.

Roads: A5, Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there any plans for dualling any sections of the A5 road between Ballygawley and Londonderry; and, if so, what those plans are.

Lord Rooker: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the noble Lord in response to this Question.
	Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin to Lord Laird dated 13 March 2006.
	You recently asked Her Majesty's Government a Parliamentary Question about whether there are any plans for dualling any sections of the A5 road between Ballygawley and Londonderry; and, if so, what those plans are.
	I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as chief executive of Roads Service.
	I can advise that, in accordance with the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan 2015, published in March 2005, there are currently no proposed plans for dualling any sections of the A5 road between Ballygawley and Londonderry.
	A number of wide single (2+1) improvement schemes, together with the completion of the Omagh through pass, are planned for the A5 and this approach reflects the relatively low traffic levels on the A5 when compared to other sections of the regional strategic transport network which it is intended to dual in the plan period.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Roads: Reading

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have agreed to bear the whole cost of the proposal by Reading Borough Council to convert the two-way dual carriageway inner distribution road to a three-lane one-way system; and, if so, what is the estimated cost; and
	Whether they have made financial support for the conversion of the inner distribution road in Reading conditional on a road charging scheme being introduced when the work is completed; and
	Whether they have considered alternative schemes to the conversion of the inner distribution road in Reading such as improvement of the Cow Lane railway bridges bottleneck and the resuscitation of the cross-town route scheme between Vastern Road and the A329; and
	Whether they have made an assessment of the traffic disruption that may occur during the construction works for the conversion of the inner distribution road in Reading; and
	Whether they have made an assessment of the environmental impact and additional fuel consumption which may result from the conversion of the inner distribution road in Reading.

Lord Davies of Oldham: It is for Reading Borough Council, as local highways authority, to determine its priorities for local transport schemes, and bring them forward through its local transport plan (LTP). LTPs are funded via the Government's local transport capital settlement and it is for the highways authority to set out its expenditure programme within the confines of that funding. That funding is not conditional on the introduction of charging schemes.
	Proposals to improve the inner distribution road are covered in Reading's second round LTP and expected expenditure on the scheme is set out in that document. It is for Reading to assess the environmental and traffic consequences of the proposals, including consideration of alternative means of achieving their objectives.
	I understand that the borough held a public consultation last year to explain its proposals and how they fit within the wider transport strategy for Reading. I further understand that the local authority has recently published traffic orders which will give the public the opportunity to consider the traffic changes and formally raise any associated concerns with the council.

Shareholder Executive

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the Prime Minister last met Mr Richard Gillingwater, Chief Executive of the Shareholder Executive; and whether a minute was taken of the meeting; and
	Which officials in the Prime Minister's Private Office have had contact with Mr Richard Gillingwater, Chief Executive of the Shareholder Executive, since August 2005; what were the dates and the nature of each contact.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Prime Minister and his officials have meetings with a wide range of individuals on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Sudan

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have raised the question of refugees from the Sudan with the Government of Egypt; and, if not, whether they intend to do so.

Baroness Amos: We have held several discussions with the Egyptian authorities regarding Sudanese refugees in Egypt. On 3 January 2006, our ambassador in Cairo raised our concerns with the Egyptian Government following the deaths of 27 Sudanese refugees when Egyptian police broke up a sit-in outside the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Cairo on 30 December 2005. Several hundred protestors were detained, all of whom have now been released. The Egyptians have announced that a full inquiry will take place. We remain in contact with the Government of Egypt and UNHCR on this issue and will continue to monitor the situation.

Sudan

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are consulting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and others about the prospects for the return home from Khartoum and other northern locations of Sudanese people displaced from the south of their country.

Baroness Amos: The focus of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the south is on supporting Sudanese refugees returning from surrounding countries. The UNHCR has agreements or is in discussions with the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia concerning Sudanese refugee repatriation. The UNHCR also provides assistance to movements of internally displaced people within the south and Darfur. The primary agency for north-south returns is the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Returns, Reintegration and Recovery Unit (RRR).
	The UK is actively involved with all UN agencies on the issue of returning refugees, including through weekly returns co-ordination meetings in Khartoum. We remain concerned about the ability of many areas to absorb and integrate large numbers of returning refugees and have been working with the UN, NGOs and the Government of South Sudan to ensure these issues are addressed. To support this, the UK is providing early and significant contributions to the UN 2006 work plan, from which the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator has already allocated over $40 million to the south. For longer term recovery and development in the south, the UK is establishing the £l0 million service delivery fund. This will act as a bridge to the multi-donor trust fund while it develops projects to meet longer-term development needs.

Sudan

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are discussing with the Government of Sudan the plight of the many homeless displaced families in Khartoum.

Baroness Amos: The Khartoum State is host to approximately 4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) from across Sudan. The IDP population has increased since the 1980s, in both camp and non-camp environments, and presents the Khartoum authorities with significant concerns for urban planning. In March 2004, the Sudanese Government stepped up a process of demolitions and interruption of essential services as a way of moving IDPs to new sites. We have consistently made clear that while we acknowledge the right of the Sudanese authorities to re-plan their urban environment, the process must be guided by international human rights conventions.
	The UK and international community have been working closely with the Government of Sudan to ensure that their treatment of IDPs is compliant with these conventions. The UK has funded a number of projects in this regard, including providing an expert to work with the Khartoum authorities on settlement and re-planning in Khartoum State. The majority of the interventions in Khartoum State are under the UN's 2006 work plan for Sudan, to which the UK is contributing £40 million. They will focus on providing essential services for IDPs.

Sudan: Darfur

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will ask the international agencies and non-governmental organisations working in Darfur and Chad to give priority for anti-retroviral treatment to women who have suffered rape.

Baroness Amos: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead agency responsible for tackling gender-based violence in Darfur and Chad. The UNFPA has been working with the Sudanese Government to allow for the importing of anti-retroviral drugs to help treat rape victims in Darfur. The UK has been closely involved with those working on gender-based violence in Darfur and Khartoum and, through this, has pressed the humanitarian agencies to ensure full, swift and effective treatment of victims of rape in Darfur.
	The UK has also provided significant funds for UN agencies and non-governmental organisations working on gender-based violence in Darfur, with £595,000 allocated to the UNFPA in 2005. For 2006, of the initial allocation of $105 million from the Common Humanitarian Fund, $4.35 million was allocated to health in Darfur of which $1.2 million went to the UNFPA. The UK will contribute approximately £40 million to the Common Humanitarian Fund, half the current total, designed to allow the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator to fund the highest priorities within the UN work plan. The fund will help to ensure that priority issues, such as gender-based violence, will receive adequate funding according to need.

Sudan: Darfur

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they classify the events in Darfur as genocide; and, if not, how they classify them.

Lord Triesman: The report of the UN-appointed International Commission of Inquiry, released on 31 January 2005, found that the Government of Sudan have not pursued a policy of genocide in Darfur, although a "competent court" will need to decide whether certain individuals have done so. The report also stresses that the crimes which have taken place in Darfur,
	"may be no less serious and heinous than genocide".
	We are clear that grave abuses of human rights have occurred and are still occurring in Darfur. There must be no impunity for those who have committed these crimes and those responsible must be brought to justice. We strongly support the International Criminal Court, which is now conducting a formal investigation into the situation in Darfur. Both my right honourable friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development made clear during their respective visits to the Darfur peace talks in Abuja and Sudan, including Darfur, in February 2006 that the parties must take urgent steps to improve the situation in Darfur and bring those responsible for atrocities to justice.

Taxation

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the cost to the Exchequer of permitting the personal allowance for income tax purposes to be transferable between husband and wife.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The estimated annual cost of permitting the personal allowance to be transferable within couples is £4.2 billion. This excludes any behavioural response to the change, which could be significant given the magnitude of the change.
	This figure was calculated using the department's tax and benefit model (IGOTM) based on data from the Family Resources Survey 2003-04, uprated to 2005-06 prices.

Taxation

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McKenzie of Luton on 15 February (WA 181-82), for the latest year for which figures are available, what assessment they have made of the average size of compensation payments which are subject to income tax relief; and
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McKenzie of Luton on 15 February (WA 181–82), for the latest year for which figures are available, what assessment they have made of the net saving to the Exchequer of changing the maximum permitted compensation payment from £30,000 to (a) £10,000, and (b) £20,000.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The term "compensation payment" is a general description that covers a wide range of payments that are all different in nature and which may be subject to different tax treatment.
	For 2003-04 it is estimated that reducing the tax relief limit on redundancy payments from £30,000 to £10,000 would save the Exchequer some £450 million and reducing the limit to £20,000 would save the Exchequer some £150 million. The average redundancy payment received in 2003–04 is estimated to be around £12,500 per person.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McKenzie of Luton on 15 February (WA 181–82), for the latest year for which figures are available, what assessment they have made of the number of people who are subject to income tax who have (a) one employment; (b) two employments; (c) three employments; (d) four employments; and (e) more than four employments during the year.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The information is not readily available except at a disproportionate cost.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McKenzie of Luton on 9 February (WA 123), how much is paid in income tax by those individuals who for tax purposes are resident but non-domiciled in the United Kingdom during the last year for which figures are available.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: HM Revenue and Customs estimates that in 2003–04, the 105,000 individuals claiming that they were resident but not domiciled in the United Kingdom were due to pay approximately £3 billion in income tax.

Taxation: Inheritance Tax

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	For the latest year for which figures are available, what assessment they have made of the cost of providing gift relief for inheritance tax purposes on gifts made in respect of marriages.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Gifts in consideration of marriage which are fully exempt because they do not exceed the prescribed limits are not reported to HIVRC. It is therefore not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of this relief.
	The total cost is likely to be small for the following reasons:
	The exemption is required only for gifts made within seven years of death.
	It is required only in cases where other exemptions such as the £3,000 annual exemption have already been used.
	The maximum exemption on a gift in consideration of marriage is £5,000.

Taxation: IR35

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McKenzie of Luton on 14 February (WA 168), whether they collect data on (a) the revenue collected as a result of the intermediaries (also known as IR35) legislation; and (b) any estimates of the revenue which it was anticipated would be collected as a result of this legislation.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: HM Revenue and Customs does not routinely collect data in respect of specific types of legislation from PAYE/NIC returns, as well as from its employer compliance review programme.
	The estimate of yield arising from the intermediaries legislation was published in Table A2.1 of the 2000 Financial Statement and Budget Report.

Taxation: Rent-a-Room Relief

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	For the latest year for which figures are available, what analysis (a) by age, and (b) by income level they have made of the individuals who benefit from rent-a-room relief.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: HM Revenue and Customs does not have central records of the age and income level of individuals who benefit from the rent-a-room relief.

Vehicles: Taxi Regulation

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many infringements of taxi regulations have been discovered by the Department of the Environment's taxi enforcement branch in each of the past three years.

Lord Rooker: Enforcement officers attached to the department's Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency have detected and reported the following infringements of taxi regulations with a view to prosecution.
	
		
			  PSV Licensing Offences PSV Driver Licensing Offences Insurance Offences Other Offences 
			 01/04/03 to 31/03/04 309 210 228 137 
			 01/04/04 to 31/03/05 188 140 177 74 
			 01/04/05 to 28/02/06 148 68 99 176

World Heritage Sites

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which government departments fund World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom; what funding is available for World Heritage Sites in private ownership in the United Kingdom; and what special responsibilities owners of World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom have following their designation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Lord Davies of Oldham: A number of government departments and agencies provide contributions to fund World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom as part of their normal support of the cultural and natural heritage of this country. World Heritage Sites in Scotland receive some funding and support from the Scottish Executive via Historic Scotland.
	No additional funding is available to private owners as a result of World Heritage status but they do have access to sources of funding available for conservation of the cultural and natural environment. The Government meet their obligations under the World Heritage Convention through statutory designation and planning regimes. Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 sets out requirements for World Heritage Sites in England. Scotland and Wales have their own similar planning requirements.